It started with an email chain my dad forwarded to me, something about a young woman looking for a boat to charter for her campaign, as she was asking about MudRatz boats. I was immediately intrigued and wanted in on whatever she was planning. All women? On a sailboat? Sign me up. I have gotten tired of being surrounded by only men on sailboats.
Maya reached out to me a few weeks later asking whether this campaign was something I wanted to be a part of. My first reaction was yes! My second was: do I have time for this? I knew it was something I wanted to make time for, though. As a current student-athlete at St. Mary's College of Maryland, I am a skipper on the women's sailing team that just found out we are headed to NATIONALS! So exciting. I cannot wait to sail at my first college nationals this spring. Five days after Nationals is the start of the Annapolis to Newport Race, which definitely made me consider the commitments I was taking on. I then thought back to my original thought- all women, no men. I had to say yes!
When I accepted Maya's offer, the biggest test to making the team was how much I was willing to spend calling people, sending texts, and writing emails to fundraise and get us to the starting line. I knew it would be tough with my semester winding down, but I was up for the challenge. Sure enough, we are now almost halfway to our goal, and I am so lucky to be part of such a hardworking, amazing team of strong women (and I haven't met half of them in person, yet)!
I'm currently in the middle of studying for finals, but honestly, I am more worried about finding dockage in Newport, flights to Annapolis, and fundraising another $10,000. With a month to go, I am confident we can accomplish our goals and make it to the starting line. I am super thankful to be a part of this campaign and look forward to seeing all we accomplish in the future.
